4 Steps to Hiring Your Right Hand Woman

Christa’s sharing here today her 4 steps to hiringÂ your right hand woman. I loved her tips! As a girl boss who just recently hired (in barter) an editor for my collaborative blog, I couldn’t agree more with her words. It has been such a wonderful experience for me and opened so many opportunities for my team of writers, while also freeing me up to establish office hours and better manage my time. So if you’re considering adding a team member, take a minute to learn from her wisdom.

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I foundÂ Christa over at Do A New Thing during the 31 Days of Blogging challenge in October last year. She works specifically with Christian businesses, ministries, speakers and writers to help support them, manage projects and coachesÂ them to help their business or ministry be all that it can be. I love that there are people out there doing this! Often ministries have a great idea, and are equipped to fill a need but don’t have the time or knowledge to handle all of the technical and business aspects that come along with it.

4 Steps to Hiring Your Right Hand Woman

There comes a time in the growth cycle of every solo business or ministry where you just canâ€™t do itÂ alone any more. The demands are too great, the issues too complicated for you to figure it out andÂ manage it on your own. It is time to hire help, but how do you find someone? And more importantly,Â how do you find the RIGHT someone?

When it comes to hiring someone to be part of your day to day operations, there are some importantÂ things to consider.

1. Decide what you need them to do

What are the things you wake up in the morning and dread doing? Are you an introvert who getsÂ hives looking at a constantly-moving Twitter feed? You have 10 blog posts written but dealing withÂ WordPress gives you a headache?Â What is the one thing that keeps you from focusing on the passion that fuels your work? WhetherÂ itâ€™s a virtual assistant, a social media manager, an editor or a coach, there is someone out there whoÂ LOVES doing the things you hate. Constantly doing things you hate will sap your energy. So hireÂ someone to do them for you.

2. Look for potential candidates

Ask your friends and peers for recommendations of people they know or have worked with. CheckÂ out their websites and if possible, samples of their work. You will be paying your hard-earnedÂ money for this service, so donâ€™t feel obligated to hire the first person you find.Â If you need urgent help and need someone who can jump in immediately with little instruction, youÂ for sure want someone with experience. But also consider someone just getting started. SomeoneÂ trying to build a client base will likely go above and beyond to give you great service and often at aÂ great price.

3. Conduct a phone interview

Most service providers will do a free initial call of 20 â€“ 30 minutes to discuss the kind of help youÂ need and see if itâ€™s good fit for both of you. Some things youâ€™ll want to talk about during the call:

Be clear about the type of work you need done and the turnaround time she can provide.Â Does she need a week of lead time to edit and format a post? Will she schedule socialÂ media daily or weekly? Be sure you understand her work process so there are no surprisesÂ later.

Talk about work hours and availability. If one of you is doing this as a side gig and onlyÂ available on the weekends, and the other is a stay at home mom working during nap time,Â this might not be the best relationship for you. Does the position require a strict scheduleÂ or is it flexible based on the tasks that are needed?

Understand payment policies. Pay in advance? Per task? A monthly block of hours? What Â happens if you donâ€™t use all your hours in a month? Money issues can put a cramp in anyÂ partnership so get clarity on those right at the beginning.

Ask about communication and office hours. Email, Skype, phone calls, text chats â€¦. all areÂ possible. Just be sure you are comfortable with her preferred method of communication.Â Understand her boundaries for calls, last-minute requests and extra work.

4. Red Flags â€“ Watch out for these things

If she donâ€™t offer any kind of free initial consultation, she may be too busy to give you theÂ personalized attention you deserve.

She should be able to provide references for work similar to what you are looking for, even if itÂ is only for volunteer work she has done. If she canâ€™t give you one name of someone who knowsÂ and trusts her work, run.

You should expect someone to really listen to what you need and be honest about what theyÂ can and canâ€™t do. But if they are so set in their way of doing things that it is â€œmy way or theÂ highwayâ€ take the highway and find someone else down the road.

Running a solo business or ministry can be very lonely and scary when you have no one to depend onÂ but yourself. Having a partner not only lightens your load, but it gives you a sounding board and makesÂ the journey more enjoyable. Finding the RIGHT partner can be just the thing to take your hard work toÂ the next level.

But wait … There’s MORE!

If you’re wondering if it’s the right time for you to hire a right hand woman, check out Christa’s post over at Do A New Thing:

About Maria Davis

Maria is a mom of two teens, a coffee lover by day, tea lover by night, book nerd, crazy cat lady, a web designer, musician and a self-proclaimed geek bent on a life of embracing grace and sharing stories.